Dental cradle systems

ABSTRACT

The dental cradle is a dishwasher safe, injection-molded thermoplastic polymer device for holding toothbrushes and other dental hygiene instruments, which prevents bacteria from developing by allowing toothbrushes and other dental hygiene instruments to air dry in a horizontal position rather than dripping from a vertical position into a cup holder that promotes a bacteria-breeding environment. The dental cradle can be manufactured and sold as a kit in combination with a tooth brush, a tooth scraper, and a tooth mirror.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation-in-part and is related to and claims priority from pending non-provisional application Ser. No. 14/454,815 filed Aug. 8, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 37 CFR 1.71(d).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention(s). It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art, or material, to the presently described or claimed inventions, or that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of toothbrush holders and more specifically relates to a free standing accessory to hold toothbrushes and other dental hygiene implements, such as mirrors, and picks in secure, form-fitting cradles that prevents the accumulation of water and thus bacteria buildup.

2. Description of the Related Art

The toothbrush is an oral hygiene instrument used to clean the teeth and gums that consists of a head of tightly clustered bristles mounted on a handle, which facilitates the cleansing of hard-to-reach areas of the mouth. Toothpaste, which often contains fluoride, is commonly used in conjunction with a toothbrush to increase the effectiveness of tooth brushing. Toothbrushes are available with different bristle textures, sizes and forms. Toothbrushes have usually been made from synthetic fibers since they were originally developed, although animal bristles are still sometimes used.

There is no lack of attractive, traditional, cup-style toothbrush holders on the market, and although these may look terrific and tasteful by the bathroom sink, you're eventually going to get, using a holder that inevitably collects and retains water, a mouth full of bacteria. And that bacteria, it's safe to say, might be somewhat at odds with your best efforts at dental hygiene. Therefore a need exists for a better means of storing toothbrushes and other implements of daily dental hygiene.

Various attempts have been made to solve the above-mentioned problems such as those found in U.S. Publication. No. 2009/0127214 to Gary Iver Kruger et al, U.S. Publication No. 2010/0051565 to Jose C. Fonseca; and U.S. Design Pat. No. D291,268 to Eric A. Stephenson. This art is representative of holders for toothbrushes or dental tools. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the invention as claimed.

Ideally, a toothbrush holding device should provide a means for holding toothbrushes and other dental hygiene implements and, yet would operate reliably and be manufactured at a modest expense. Thus, a need exists for a reliable dental cradle system to hold toothbrushes, and dental hygiene implements such as mirrors and picks, in secure, form-fitting cradles to prevent the accumulation of water and thus bacteria buildup, which occurs with conventional, vertical, cup-style toothbrush and implement holders, and to avoid the above-mentioned problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known toothbrush holder art, the present invention provides a novel dental cradle. The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a free-standing accessory intended for use on a sink counter or fit in a medicine cabinet in a bathroom, and designed to hold toothbrushes, and dental hygiene implements such as mirrors and picks, in secure, form-fitting cradles to prevent the accumulation of water and thus bacteria buildup which occurs with conventional, cup-style toothbrush and implement holders. Public dental health is thus promoted.

A dental cradle system is disclosed herein, in a preferred embodiment, comprising: a dental cradle device having a top section with a series of horizontal cradles, a stem section, and a base section. The dental cradle device is preferably fabricated from food-grade, injection molded, thermoplastic polymer for longevity of use in a high humidity and wet environment condition, and is dishwasher safe for ease of cleaning. It is a freestanding unit, not dependent on any other device for use, and is sized for placement on a sink counter or in a medicine cabinet for ease of access. The dental cradle device is manufactured in a variety of colors to further suit a wide variety of consumer tastes and decors.

The dental cradle system can be manufactured and sold as a kit or simply as a toothbrush holder including a dental cradle device in combination with a tooth brush, a tooth scraper, and a tooth mirror.

The top section comprises a series of horizontal cradles for holding multiple dental hygiene implements in a separated and organized manner, allowing a user to easily view and subsequently utilize the dental hygiene implement of a user's preference. The series of horizontal cradles on the top section may comprise two sets of grooves, parallel and separated from each other to allow dental hygiene implements to be placed therein.

The dental cradle device prevents accumulation of sitting water to prevent bacteria growth, by holding dental hygiene implements in a horizontal position in the series of horizontal cradles. This method of use prevents bacteria from migrating up the handle and contaminating the head of the dental hygiene implement as happens in a vertical type tooth brush holder. The series of horizontal cradles are form-fitting to securely hold dental hygiene implements by the handle to allow the head of the dental hygiene implement to air dry. The dental hygiene implement head extends beyond the top section to allow air drying and bacteria free storage, while holding the handle from the bottom side to allow the handle to air dry as well.

The stem section is attached to the bottom side of the top section to allow the top section to be raised above a surface, and is manufactured in different heights for space constraints and consumer preference. The base section is attached to a lower side of the stem section to provide vertical stability of the dental cradle device, and comprises a flat bottom to allow placing of the dental cradle device on a flat planar surface for use. Dental hygiene implements are able to be placed in the series of horizontal cradles to allow storage and air drying in a horizontal position, thus preventing bacteria growth as with traditional cup-style holders.

The present invention holds significant improvements and serves as a freestanding accessory to hold toothbrushes and dental hygiene implements. For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and method(s) of use for the present invention, dental cradle system, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view illustrating a dental cradle system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the preferred embodiment of the dental cradle device of FIG. 1 including a tooth brush, a tooth scraper, and a tooth mirror.

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating an alternate embodiment of the dental cradle device according the present invention of FIG. 1.

The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, embodiments of the present invention relate to a toothbrush holding device and more particularly to a dental cradle system as used to provide the capacity to securely hold and store toothbrushes and dental hygiene implements in a horizontal fashion that prevents the accumulation of water and thus bacteria buildup which occurs with conventional, vertical, cup-style toothbrush and implement holders.

Generally speaking, the dental cradle system is preferably a dishwasher safe, injection-molded thermoplastic polymer device (or other suitable material) for holding toothbrushes and other dental hygiene instruments, which prevents bacteria from developing by allowing toothbrushes and other dental hygiene instruments to air dry in a horizontal position rather than dripping from a vertical position into a cup holder that tends to promote a bacteria-breeding environment.

Referring to the drawings by numerals of reference there is shown in FIG. 1, a perspective view illustrating the preferred embodiment of dental cradle system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Dental cradle system 100 in the preferred embodiment comprises a dental cradle device 101 having a front portion 102; a back portion 104; a top section 110 having a curved surface 111 rising vertically from said front portion to said back portion; and two spaced, parallel series of cradles 112, wherein each of said cradles 112 comprises curved surfaces 114, such that said curved surfaces of adjacent cradles form an open-topped curved cradle holding portion 115 adapted to hold a dental implement 200 therein in a separated and organized manner, wherein each cradle 112 of one of said two series of cradles is in alignment with a respective cradle 112 of the second of said two series of cradles thereby forming a means for holding individual dental implements in horizontal and vertically separated positions, as shown in FIG. 2, and such the top section curved surface 111 is adapted such that said dental implements are separated horizontally and vertically such that any residual water or germs dripping off one implement will not land on any other dental implement being held by said dental cradle device to thereby retaining sanitary conditions; a stem section 120; and a base section 130, wherein said stem section 120 is fixedly attached to a bottom side of said top section 110 to allow said top section to be raised above a surface, wherein said base section 130 is fixedly attached to a lower side of said stem section 120 to provide vertical stability of said dental cradle device, and wherein said base section 130 comprises a flat bottom to allow placing of said dental cradle device on a flat surface for use.

Preferred dimensions of the dental cradle device 101 includes a height of 3½ inches; the curved surface having a width of 4½ inches; the base having an interim width of 4 inches; and the base having a diameter of at least 4 inches.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the preferred embodiment of the dental cradle system 100 comprises a dental cradle device 101 in combination with a tooth brush 200, a tooth scraper 300, and a tooth mirror 400. This combination can be sold together as a tooth care kit or simply as a toothbrush holder.

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating an alternate embodiment of the dental cradle device wherein respective end cradles 112 are in substantially the same horizontal plane, and intermediate respective cradles 112 are in positions that are vertically higher with respect to the base section 130 than the end cradles 112.

It should be noted that the steps described in the method of use can be carried out in many different orders according to user preference. The use of “step of” should not be interpreted as “step for”, in the claims herein and is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, ¶6. Upon reading this specification, it should be appreciated that, under appropriate circumstances, considering such issues as design preference, user preferences, marketing preferences, cost, structural requirements, available materials, technological advances, etc., other methods of use arrangements such as, for example, different orders within above-mentioned list, elimination or addition of certain steps, including or excluding certain maintenance steps, etc., may be sufficient.

The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. 

What is claimed is new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:
 1. A dental cradle system for use with dental implements, comprising: a dental cradle device having; a front portion; a back portion; a top section having; a curved surface rising vertically from said front portion to said back portion; and two spaced, parallel series of cradles, wherein each of said cradles comprising: curved surfaces, such that said curved surfaces of adjacent cradles form an open-topped curved cradle holding portions adapted to hold dental implements therein in a separated and organized manner; and wherein each cradle of one of said two series of cradles is in alignment with a respective cradle of the second of said two series of cradles thereby forming a means for holding individual dental implements in horizontal and vertically separated positions, and such that said top section curved surface is adapted such that said dental implements are separated horizontally and vertically such that any residual water or germs dripping off one implement will not land on any other dental implement being held by said dental cradle device and thereby retaining sanitary conditions; a stem section; and a base section; wherein said stem section is fixedly attached to a bottom side of said top section to allow said top section to be raised above a surface; wherein said base section is fixedly attached to a lower side of said stem section to provide vertical stability of said dental cradle device; wherein said base section comprises a flat bottom to allow placing of said dental cradle device on a flat surface for use.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The dental cradle system of claim 1 wherein said dental cradle device is adapted to hold multiple dental hygiene implements for ease of use.
 4. (canceled)
 5. (canceled)
 6. The dental cradle system of claim 1 wherein said dental cradle device is sized to be able to be placed on a sink counter for ease of access.
 7. (canceled)
 8. (canceled)
 9. (canceled)
 10. (canceled)
 11. (canceled)
 12. (canceled)
 13. (canceled)
 14. (canceled)
 15. The dental cradle system of claim 1 wherein said two spaced, parallel series of cradles are adapted to support said dental hygiene implements from said bottom side to allow their respective handles to air dry.
 16. The dental cradle system of claim 1 wherein said two spaced, parallel series of horizontal cradles are adapted to allow dental hygiene implement heads to extend beyond said top section to allow air drying and bacteria free storage.
 17. (canceled)
 18. (canceled)
 19. (canceled)
 20. (canceled)
 21. A tooth care kit comprising: a dental cradle device having; a front portion; a back portion; a top section having; a curved surface rising vertically from said front portion to said back portion; and two spaced, parallel series of cradles, wherein each of said cradles comprising: curved surfaces, such that said curved surfaces of adjacent cradles form open-topped curved cradle holding portions adapted to hold dental implements therein in a separated and organized manner; and wherein each cradle of one of said two series of cradles is in alignment with a respective cradle of the second of said two series of cradles thereby forming a means for holding individual dental implements in horizontal and vertically separated positions, and such that said top section curved surface is adapted such that said dental implements are separated horizontally and vertically such that any residual water or germs dripping off one implement will not land on any other dental implement being held by said dental cradle device; a stem section; and a base section; wherein said stem section is fixedly attached to a bottom side of said top section to allow said top section to be raised above a surface; wherein said base section is fixedly attached to a lower side of said stem section to provide vertical stability of said dental cradle device; wherein said base section comprises a flat bottom to allow placing of said dental cradle device on a flat surface for use; a tooth brush; wherein said tooth brush is formed and adapted to fit within respective cradles of said two spaced, parallel series of cradles and be held in a horizontal position; a tooth scraper; wherein said tooth scraper is formed and adapted to fit within respective cradles of said two spaced, parallel series of cradles and be held in a horizontal position vertically spaced from said tooth brush; and a tooth mirror; wherein said tooth mirror is formed and adapted to fit within respective cradles of said two spaced, parallel series of cradles and be held in a horizontal position vertically spaced from said tooth brush and from said tooth scraper; wherein any residual water or germs dripping off said tooth brush, said tooth scraper, and said tooth mirror will not land on the other of said tooth brush, said tooth scraper, and said tooth mirror.
 22. The dental cradle system of claim 21, wherein said tooth brush, said tooth scraper, and said tooth mirror are formed having lengths that are adapted to extend beyond a width of said top section to thereby allow air drying and bacteria free storage. 